Vicious Boys by Nora Cobb
Chapter Seven
Vicki
I keep going to the cinematography club meetings, but Dom and I keep our distance from each other. Nobody seems to notice the clumsy movements as we avoid even the tiniest physical contact. I walk around a desk in the opposite direction to avoid him while he asks anyone else but me for help carrying equipment. It’s a mutual decision that we didn’t have to discuss, and it’s the smartest thing we’ve ever agreed on. Except I can feel his gaze on me when he thinks I’m not paying attention, and he’s caught me staring back at him.
Now, this invisible force field surrounds me as I walk across campus. Nobody dares to say a nasty word to me. The daddy jokes stop once it becomes known that I am with both Dom and Chase. New rumors are whispered behind my back as I walk by, that I’ve been with all three at the same time. The image sticks in my head and causes my body to heat up between my thighs. But these boys would never share a girl, not even if me.
I start wearing my dressy clothes again—the sky-high heels, the skinny pants, and the designer jackets with bold graphic prints. While the other students look like slobs, I look like I’m about to drive off to LA and do lunch.
Honestly, I’m too focused on work to care. Real directors don’t pick up a camera and shoot what happens to be in front of them. It’s my responsibility to block the shots, scene by scene, with storyboards. I ask Theo to draw them, and he agrees, pleased to have another piece crammed into his insanely phenomenal portfolio. Back at the suite, we spread out his sketches across every surface in the living room.
“That looks so cool, Theo.” I pick up the board for Lust and admire the way he’s drawn the sin. “It looks stylishly deranged.”
“I’ve noticed your power move.” He eyes my polished toes in my turquoise sandals. “And so have a few others. People are dressing like they have an interview after school.”
I laugh, admiring my favorite boards. Theo has drawn me in the black woods. My blonde hair is tangled in a tree branch as I reach down for an apple that’s fallen to the ground. I can’t resist its shiny, sleek skin as I hold it against my cheek and stare up at a tumultuous sky with sunken eyes.
“Do you think I can have this one when we’re finished?” I ask, holding up the board with the Van Gogh sky.
He snatches it out of my hands and signs his name in the left-hand corner. “Now you can.”
I balance the board in my fingertips. “I’m going to have it framed and hang it on the wall in my office.”
***
I head toward the film building to work on my senior project but stop and stare at the door. Sickening spirals go down my throat, and I get a feeling that I shouldn’t go in there today. I turn around and head for the student center to use one of the screening rooms to watch what I’ve shot so far.
The door is shut, and the lights are off in the room that Silas uses as his office. Assuming it’s empty, I shove the door open with my foot and walk right in front of an image on the widescreen. The bright lights blind me momentarily as I lift my arm to shield my eyes from the bright lights. I look at the screen and watch the image of a small boy running down a woodland path. Leaves swirl behind him as he runs until they loom above his head. A close-up of the boy’s troubled eyes fills the screen. Suddenly, the room goes dark, and my eyes adjust to the low light coming in from the hallway.
Chase sits in the last row of seats at the top of the aisle, watching me. His lips pressed tight together, he says nothing. His serious expression makes me feel uncertain, as if he can read my private thoughts. Thoughts I don’t want him to know. I didn’t return his text last night, not after I spoke to Silas. He must know that I asked Silas for a second chance.
“That looked interesting.” My voice is bright as I motion toward the screen. “Is that your senior project?”
Chase looks away as if he can’t bother to answer my obvious question. And then his eyes shift back toward mine, but he still doesn’t respond.
I try again, but I don’t dare approach him. “What’s the theme?”
Chase gets up from his seat and shuts his laptop. He doesn’t look at me as he walks down the aisle, toward the door. He pauses for a moment and says, “You can have the room.” And then he walks out.
He must know about Silas.
No point in crying over another questionable decision. I should’ve handled it better, but at this point, feelings are bound to get hurt. I just didn’t expect it would be so finite, so final. Chase shuts me out of his life, and I shouldn’t question it. After all, I set it in motion the day I made out with him in the recording studio. I knew then about Marcy. Why does it bother me if he’s seeing someone else? Because it’s who he’s seeing.
I don’t even try to say anything as I watch him walk down the hall and out of sight. And I don’t bother setting up my video, and want to leave this room. I wait a few minutes until I think Chase is out of the building. Slowly, I shut the door of the room as if he hears it, he might come back. I walk farther down the hall to the next screening room.
Chase is too fucking moody, and Dom can’t keep his mouth shut. Silas is the one who will help me, but I have to prove that I can be stable. And so far, I haven’t. I have to mean it when I tell him I want him. Not as a lover, but as a partner.
The door is locked, so I knock and wait. Silas opens the door; his scowl softens when he sees it’s me. I slip past him, and he locks the door again. I hold my bag tightly against my chest as I lean against the wall. He steps near me, but I don’t feel trapped. I’m the one drawing him in, and he doesn’t want to step away.
On the screen are images of Silas starring in his own film. His face flickers across the screen, and my breath leaves me. He’s so handsome. On-screen Silas gazes off into the distance with a look of love in his hypnotic green eyes. I look back at real Silas, and I wonder if he knows he’s mimicking the expression on the screen when he looks at me. Is he playing me? Is this the way he looks at every girl he wants to claim?
“What is it, Vicki?” he whispers.
“I told you I made a mistake, and I will do what I need to do to correct it.” I shrug my shoulders. “But you didn’t get back to me.”
He smirks. “I’ve told you my reasons.”
This time I’m not settling for no. “You said yourself that the two of us are appealing. I’m not looking for love. I’m looking for a business partner.”
His mouth twitches. “I have to think about it.”
“You had all night to think about it,” I remind him. “Come on, Silas. You know it would be good. The two of us. What you know and what I can get us.”
He steps closer. “Remind me what you can bring to the deal again?”
My breath catches as I stare into his eyes with that look of desire. He still wants me despite all the shit I pulled him through. He still wants me. I part my lips and lean in closer until his breath on my lips. He grabs the back of my head and pulls me into a savage kiss. His mouth presses kiss after kiss along the nape of my neck to my collarbone. I really want him to touch me, and I feel that I won’t have another chance like this. Ever. Maybe I should wait, rather than ending up disappointed when this sham is over.
“I have all I need but you,” His voice is hoarse. “But I want benefits.”
“Yeah, we could do that,” I reply casually though my heart is pounding. “You know…if that’s what you want.” I swallow. “Is it what I think you mean?” My hand trails along his thigh, and my fingers gently pass over the bulge in his jeans. “Here? Now?”
He shakes his head. “Somewhere private. I want to see how committed you are. This time.”
***
Dad’s car is missing from the driveway, so I text him. He’ll be in San Francisco until the end of the week. He wants to know if anything is the matter. I assure him that nothing’s wrong. Silas follows me up the stairs to my bedroom. He’s been in the house before but not the second floor. It feels odd to have him follow me into my bedroom, knowing why we’re here. I’ve never planned sex, but I don’t want to think about the other times. Ever again.
I stand awkwardly in the middle of my bedroom as he looks around. Most of my stuff is at the suite, and at home, my bedroom looks bare, without personality. Anyone could live here with the generic bed-in-a-bag bedding and the flea market wall hanging of the moon in a starlit sky serving as a canopy. I roll my lips together into my mouth as Silas picks up a picture off the nightstand.
“That’s my brother and his wife and baby,” I tell him without being asked.
Silas nods. “Who are the other guys in the photo?”
I slip it out of his hands and put it back down. “Just family.”
Looking at him, I wait for him to start. Is that how it’s done? Is this what people do when they have benefits? I’ve wanted Silas before, but now I don’t know what to do. I look at him shyly, and his intense gaze sweeps over my lips. My breathing is ragged. The wait is messing with me.
“Are you scared?” he asks.
I shake my head as I chew on my lip.
“Then just nervous?”
I nod. Silas walks over to me and gently kisses me, placing his hand under my chin as he tilts it back. I sigh into his mouth when he pulls away. His hand slowly travels down and pulls my shirt out of my jeans. His eyes keep contact with mine as he slowly undresses me. He stops ever so often to kiss me again, and I hold onto him as I push my jeans down to the floor. I reach for the fly on his jean, but he pushes my hands away and tells me not yet.
He leads me naked to the bed, and he sits down. He gazes at my body as I stand perfectly still. He reaches up, and his hand traces the tan line on my skin. He seems fascinated by it as his hand trails down my shoulder to my breast. He pulls me forward and closes his eyes as the tip of his tongue touches my nipple. I moan as he nips it between his teeth and then sucks. I start to rock on my feet as the sensation of being hurt, then soothed, repeats. My panties are damp as I feel myself tingling, and the man isn’t even undressed yet.
He stops and gazes up at me. Silas pulls me into his lap and kisses my lips again. His tongue parts my lips, and our tongues tangle together. This isn’t what I was expecting. I thought it would be quick and rough. But he is careful to make sure that I feel pleasure.
He leans back, pulling me with him, never breaking our kiss. I lie beside him, and I can feel his bulge hard in his jeans. I reach for him again, but he pushes my hand away. He rolls on top of me, holding his body over mine as his kiss trails down from my mouth over my chin. He kisses every part of me as his lips travel down the center of my body. He stops at my panties.
“I wonder how sweet you taste?” he asks.
I shudder in anticipation as he pulls my panties down my legs. He nuzzles me between the legs, carefully tasting me as I lie with my legs open wide. I suck in air as he parts my lips with his fingers, and I almost lose it when he sucks on my clit. I wince from the intensity, and he pulls back. I’m shaking from the sensations dancing over my skin. I want to see him. I want to feel Silas between my legs, but he continues to explore me, driving me wild. I lift my hips up, and he holds onto me, making out with my pussy. I grab the sheets as I twist and shout through my orgasm.
I’m panting wildly, stretched out naked across the bed. Silas touches me, and I suck in air. I reach for him again, but he pushes me away.
“Don’t you want to?” I ask.
He nods. “I’m going to.” He places my hand between my legs. “Rub it while I get undressed.”
I’m so worked up, I don’t care that he watches me as he undresses. He takes off his T-shirt. My finger circles my clit, and I stare. I’ve never seen that many muscles on a chest before. His shoulders are broad, and his arms have muscles on muscles. My fingers are soaked as I watch him strip for me. Silas smirks as he undoes his fly and pulls off his jeans. His boxers are on, but they can’t contain his erection.
He smiles. “Put a finger in.”
I squirm on the bed as I put a finger in my pussy. And then another. Breathing heavily; this will feel nothing like him. Silas climbs onto the bed and pushes down his boxers. Oh God, my pussy twitches, and I open my legs wider. He is built all over, and I want his thick cock pushing deep in me.
“Will you scream?” he says while rolling down a condom.
“Loudly,” I whisper.
He climbs over me, and I can barely wait as I wrap my legs around his back. He positions himself over me, and I close my eyes as he spreads me apart. I groan as he eases in, and I reach up, moving my hips to take more in. Silas grasps me by the hips and tilts my body, pulling in and out. He grits his teeth as he groans, pushing deeper into me each time. I stretch myself across the bed, taking more of him as he presses in. He pauses, panting, and I run my fingers through his red hair. He opens his eyes and gazes at me, and my stomach flutters. He grabs my hips again, and he rides me hard until I’m shaking from pleasure. Laughing, I cum again, wrapping my legs around him tightly.
“I’m going to cum,” he whispers
I can only reach his chest with my lips. I kiss him, and he stiffens, then shouts. I watch Silas lose control of his movements as he shakes and shudders over me. I watch him let go, and something changes. We shared before, but it was never like this. Nothing could ever be like this.
I lie there staring at the stars on the canopy, tracing the outline of their edges as I catch my breath. I take one long, deep breath as my chest rises up and then let it out again. Out of the corner of my eye, I glimpse Silas, who has his eyes shut. His mouth is relaxed as if he were about to doze off. I take another deep breath, and he gently touches my thigh with his fingertips.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I’m entirely okay.” I place my hand on his, and he laughs.
We lie there quietly and listen to the odd sounds that the house makes as it settles down into the earth. I reach down and pull the furry throw over our naked bodies and lie back down. Silas reaches out and pulls me close. I rest my head against his chest and place my hand on his shoulder, feeling the hard curve underneath.
“When’s your dad coming back?” he asks.
“He usually comes back Sunday night.”
“It’s only Friday,” he says, resting his arm on his forehead.
It isn’t a subtle hint. “Do you want to stay?” My voice rises up.
“I can’t,” he tells me, “I have too much work to do.”
My heart stills. How can I be disappointed? It’s business with benefits. It can’t be a relationship. I can never mistake it for a loving relationship. Silas takes my hand off his shoulder and presses it to his lips. “Maybe I’ll stay overnight.”
When the doorbell rings, I almost jump. WTF? Not again.
“Were you expecting anybody?” he asks but doesn’t move.
“No, it might be my mother,” I frown and remain in bed beside him.
“You want me to go see?” he asks.
I shake my head and say no, just in case he didn’t see me.
I get up and grab a terry robe from my closet. In the hallway, I can see the driveway from the picture window that reaches the high ceiling, but I can’t see another car in the drive. I walk to the door, and Chase is standing there. I glance behind me, up the stairs. Finally, I’m convinced that it’s not me; I have shitty luck. I pat down my hair as I look away, wondering what I must look like after spending an hour in bed. Guiltily, I meet Chase’s gaze as I crack open the door.
“Are you going to invite me in?” he asks.
I shrug my shoulders, then open the door wider.
“I didn’t speak to you before because I felt guilty,” he explains, walking further into the house. I stay by the door. “I left and broke up with Marcy. I came over here to tell you.”
Nervously, I rock back and forth on the heels of my feet. I glance upstairs again as he wanders toward the living room. I feel like shit, and I need him to go before I get caught.
“I thought I’d get more of a reaction than that,” he says to me.
“I’m sorry,” I reply. “I came home because my head was pounding. You know how hard it is to rest in the town house. People outside making noise.” I pause as my cheeks burn. “I think that’s great. I mean for you.”
He scoffs. “Wow, talk about anticlimactic.”
A door slams upstairs, and we both look toward the loud sound. Waiting, we watch for someone to appear at the foot of the stairs. Chase cranes his neck, looking up the stairs as far as he can see. “Is someone else here?” he asks.
I look down at my bare feet, at the ridiculous iridescent purple polish. I know what’s about to happen. How could it not? You know the saying about bad luck—if I didn’t have bad luck, I’d have no luck at all. Well, my luck is a clusterfuck of getting caught in the act. Silas walks out of my bedroom in my purple robe. That son of a bitch. He could have put on his clothes, but he picked out the frilliest, girliest thing of mine he could to make a point without saying a word.
“Chase,” Silas grins like the devil as he walks down the stairs. “We weren’t expecting you. What do you want?”
Chase’s mouth gapes open as he shakes his head. He stares at a grinning Silas, so fucking pleased with himself. And then Chase turns to glare at me. His lips curl into a sour twist of disgust. No doubt, the irony is apparent to him. I take a step back, and my body tenses as I prepare for the barrage of insults that no doubt he’s about to unleash on me. But instead of venting on me, Chase turns on Silas.
“I want to tell you about yourself, Silas. That’s what I want,” says Chase. “You say she’s playing games, but look at you.” Chase points to the robe that barely closes in the front. A strip of black boxers is easily seen. “You’re vindictive.”
“Vindictive?” Silas mocks. “I wanted to spend time with my girlfriend. How is that vindictive?”
My head spins around, and I stare at Silas as he smirks coldly at Chase. I thought he would be truthful with Chase. Why would he pretend this is a lot more than what we had agreed upon?
Chase shakes his head. “There you go again. Being a dick. She’s not your girlfriend.”
“Same as Marcy isn’t yours.” Silas folds his arms over his chest. “You walked into that all on your own. How’s it working out?”
“Don’t bring that up,” warns Chase.
“I can’t tell if she’s in charge or you. Weren’t you supposed to be in charge?”
Chase points his finger. “I said don’t fucking talk about it.”
But Silas ignores him. “Maybe it’s time for your dad to step in. Isn’t that his gig now that he’s almost broke? Or is he too busy trying to bend someone over the couch? He gets in there when you fuck up, literally.”
Chase’s voice is colder than a blizzard. “Is that how it’s done, Silas? Bent over the couch?”
Fuck. What am I hearing, and should I be hearing it?
Silas wipes his chin with his hand. “No, Chase. Ask your mother, and maybe she’ll show you a new position. She’s shown me plenty.”
Chase’s eyes narrow as he leans in. “No, I want you to show me, lover boy.”
Silas grabs my arm and pulls me toward him. I practically fly through the air as my feet stumble across the ground. Chase grabs for my other arm, and I’m pressed in between them. I try to break free, and my heart starts to pound. This has nothing to do with me, but I’m the one who’s about to get hurt. Silas pulls me closer into him. My face is pressed flat against his chest. He’s sweating, and I can barely breathe as his grip holds me tighter, leaving bruises on my skin.
“Vicki is mine,” Silas growls. “Do you understand? This has nothing to do with you anymore. So, you can leave.”
Chase steps back. “I owe you nothing. It was my parents, not me.”
“You know what they did, and still, you protect them,” Silas hisses. “So don’t come at me with this you-owe-me-nothing bullshit.”
I feel Chase’s hand run down the length of my back softly as his fingertips graze me. I swallow, still held tightly in Silas’ arms. Tears rise up from my closed eyes. This thing I have with Silas; it’s not a partnership or even a relationship. They’ve been competing for me all along.
What did Chase once say? I was the prize? I don’t want to be the prize; I want to be loved.
I hear the door open, then shut. I push against Silas, but before I can turn and run toward the door, he catches my hand. I don’t want to look at him, but I can feel his eyes bearing down on me. Slowly, I turn my face toward his as if it’s painful to move even an inch. I whimper when I see the coolness in his eyes. And then something shifts; his expression softens as if he realizes that I’m not a gold trophy on the mantelpiece to show off to his friends.
Silas pulls me into his arms again, and I hold onto him, shaking. I have to. I made a deal, and I’ll stick with it until I don’t have to anymore. It never matters what decision I make at Redwood because I am never making them.
